Take Courage in the Journey.

Happy Sunday everyone

     
Today my group went to a different church than last week, called Mochipapa Wesleyan.  I truly enjoyed the sermon today. It has been hard for me to follow, concentrating is not always the easiest for me, especially when one pastor is shouting in English and the other in Tonga. However, this time I was able to concentrate on the English speaking pastor and really follow and God spoke to me.

The message was  from Numbers  21:4-8 where Moses is leading the Israelites through the desert.  Verse 4 says “They traveled from mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom, but the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food! I won’t preach his whole sermon, but I do want to share the summary of what he said because it really hit me. It says in verse 4 that God led the people around Edom to protect them from the edomites. The journey really could have been a lot shorter, but God led them the way He knew was best, to protect them and to teach them. God could have given Moses a shortcut through the desert, but it was the journey that matured them, disciplined them (not punished) and taught them.  However, the people did not trust in God and they did what most of us do when we don’t understand something, they complained. They complained about everything, they did not trust tht God knew where He was taking them and why.  We need to take courage in the journey God is leading us through. It may not be the path we would have taken, or the one that seems most simple or painless, but our relationship with God is not just about the end result, it is about the journey. We need to rely on God, when we look for our own shortcuts and solutions; we are not being patient or trusting that our Heavenly Father knows best and we are denying ourselves of the blessings He has in store for us along the journey.

Take courage in the journey.

Bethany